About Chiyoda
Most people come to Chiyoda for one photo: Nijubashi, the palace's main gate and its stone bridge reflected in the moat, with the iron bridge behind. It takes five minutes, and then they leave. The palace grounds are closed to the public apart from the free guided tour, the spring and autumn Inui-dori walks and the two greeting days a year, but the old castle around them is open: its inner compounds are the East Gardens, and a path follows the moats all the way round.
The Imperial Palace East Gardens are free, with no booking (closed Mondays and Fridays). They cover the Honmaru, Ninomaru and part of the Sannomaru of Edo Castle, from which the Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan for more than 260 years. You walk past three guardhouses from the Edo period and up to the stone base of the tallest keep ever built in Japan, then down to a pond garden. Allow 1–2 hours. The rest houses sell drinks and souvenirs but no food, so bring a packed lunch for the benches.
A path of about 5 km follows the palace moats on the pavements beside Uchibori-dori; runners go round it anticlockwise, and the only climb is from Takebashi up to the Hanzomon. In cherry season, Chidorigafuchi, the moat on the palace's west side, is the draw: about 230 trees line the 700 m path along its bank, Chiyoda City's boats go out among them (¥1,500 per 30 minutes in blossom season), and the trees are lit up in the evenings during the Chiyoda Sakura Festival. If you are in Tokyo when they bloom, make time for it.
Chiyoda isn't a "hang out all day" neighbourhood. After 2–3 hours for the East Gardens and the moats, walk on: KITTE, in Marunouchi, the office district between the palace and Tokyo Station, is 14 minutes from the Otemon gate, and Nihonbashi 18. Kitanomaru Park, the castle's north enclosure across the road from the East Gardens' Kitahanebashimon gate, has the Nippon Budokan and the Science Museum, and Yasukuni Shrine, the contested shrine to Japan's war dead, is 1.2 km beyond it.
Don't Miss
Imperial Palace East Gardens
Free, with no booking: you are handed an entry token at the gate and give it back when you leave. Inside are three Edo-period guardhouses, the Fujimi-yagura turret, the stone base of the 1638 keep, at 58 m the tallest ever built in Japan, and the Ninomaru pond garden below. Closed Mondays and Fridays except national holidays. Allow 1–2 hours.
Chidorigafuchi Cherry Blossoms
If you are here in late March or early April, come. About 230 cherry trees line the 700 m path along the moat, and Chiyoda City's boats cost ¥1,500 per 30 minutes in blossom season. The trees are lit from sunset to 9 PM during the Chiyoda Sakura Festival, and on light-up weekends the path is one-way from the Kudanshita end. The boat queues are long, so go on a weekday if you can.
Palace Moat Running/Walking Loop
About 5 km of pavement round the palace, beside Uchibori-dori and the roads that join it. Runners go anticlockwise, and the only climb is the 25 m from Takebashi up to the Hanzomon. On the way you pass the Sakuradamon of 1636, the Sakurada-bori, the biggest of the palace moats, and the Nijubashi view.
Gallery
The East Gardens cover Edo Castle's Honmaru, Ninomaru and part of the Sannomaru
Strictly, only the iron bridge at the back is the Nijubashi, the 'double bridge'
Chiyoda City's boats go out from a pier halfway along the Chidorigafuchi path
Twelve moats ring the palace, and the loop path follows them for about 5 km
Marunouchi: KITTE, restaurants, and walk to Tokyo Station
Chiyoda Morning
East Gardens, moat loop, and a walk to Marunouchi or Ginza
Imperial Palace East Gardens
Enter by the Otemon, 5 minutes from Otemachi Station (exit C13a), where your bag is checked and you are handed an entry token. Walk past the Hyakunin-bansho guardhouse, up to the Tenshudai, the keep's stone base, and down the Shiomizaka to the Ninomaru Garden. Hand the token back as you leave. Closed Mondays and Fridays; check the Imperial Household Agency's page before you go.
💡 Tip
- • Takebashi Station (exit 1a) is 5 minutes from the Hirakawamon and Kitahanebashimon gates
- • Drinks from machines but no food on sale, so bring a snack
Moat Loop Walk (or Run)
Leave by the Hirakawamon and join the 5 km path round the moats, going anticlockwise. From Takebashi it climbs past the Kitahanebashimon and Chidorigafuchi to the Hanzomon, the only hill on the loop. In cherry season, turn off along the Chidorigafuchi path; the boats cost ¥1,500 per 30 minutes then.
💡 Tip
- • Chidorigafuchi boats: expect long queues at weekends in blossom season
- • The Chidorigafuchi light-up runs from sunset to 9 PM during the Chiyoda Sakura Festival
Nijubashi Photo (Optional)
From the Hanzomon, follow the Sakurada-bori down past the Sakuradamon to the palace plaza (Kokyo Gaien) for the classic Nijubashi view: the stone bridge and main gate in front, the iron bridge and the Fushimi-yagura turret behind.
💡 Tip
- • Nijubashimae Station (Chiyoda Line) is about 9 minutes' walk from the viewing area
- • The public crosses the bridges only on January 2 and February 23, for the imperial greetings
Walk to Marunouchi or Ginza
Marunouchi: KITTE shopping centre and lunch, 15 minutes' walk from the Nijubashi view, with Tokyo Station beside it. Ginza's depachika food halls are 20 minutes away on foot. For Nihonbashi (30 minutes' walk) or Akihabara, take the train.
💡 Tip
- • KITTE rooftop garden has free views of Tokyo Station
- • Ginza depachika opens 10 AM
Top Attractions
Imperial Palace & East Gardens
The emperor's residence, on the site of Edo Castle. The castle's inner compounds are the free East Gardens, with three Edo-period guardhouses, the Fujimi-yagura turret and the base of the tallest keep ever built in Japan. Closed Mondays and Fridays. A path of about 5 km follows the moats round it.
Chidorigafuchi Moat
The moat on the palace's west side. About 230 cherry trees, mostly Somei-yoshino, line the 700 m Chidorigafuchi Ryokudo path along its bank and hang over the water, and Chiyoda City rents out boats from a pier halfway along. The trees are lit up in the evenings during the Chiyoda Sakura Festival.
Yasukuni Shrine
Controversial war memorial and historically complex. The Yushukan museum documents Japan's military history from a particular perspective. Worth understanding the context. 15 min walk north of the palace.
Kitanomaru Park
Edo Castle's north enclosure, a park since 1969, across the road from the East Gardens' Kitahanebashimon gate. It holds the Nippon Budokan (martial arts and concerts), the Science Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art, and about 230 cherry trees; the Tayasu gate of 1636 at its north entrance is the oldest Edo Castle building still standing.
Marunouchi & KITTE
Business district between the palace and Tokyo Station. KITTE shopping centre in the historic JP Tower has a free rooftop garden with views directly over Tokyo Station. Great restaurants, less stuffy than it sounds.
Highlights of Chiyoda
- ✓Imperial Palace East Gardens: free, on Edo Castle's inner compounds, with the stone base of its 58 m keep and three Edo guardhouses (closed Mondays and Fridays)
- ✓The 5 km moat loop: pavements all the way round the palace, where runners keep anticlockwise
- ✓Chidorigafuchi: about 230 cherry trees on the moat bank, boats from ¥1,000 per 30 minutes (¥1,500 in blossom season) and an evening light-up in late March
- ✓Nijubashi: the classic view of the palace's main gate and bridges, from the plaza outside
- ✓Kitanomaru Park: the castle's north enclosure, with the Nippon Budokan, the Science Museum and the Tayasu gate of 1636, across the road from the East Gardens
- ✓Marunouchi: business district with KITTE shopping, great restaurants, and a 10-minute walk to Tokyo Station
- ✓Yasukuni Shrine: controversial war memorial with the Yushukan war museum (¥1,000)
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